If and when provincial law requires municipalities to get approval before building new bike lanes that would remove automobile traffic lanes, Barrie would not be greatly affected.
Future road projects on Barrie’s arterial and collector street network will include cycling infrastructure where feasible, according to the city, but does not require removal of travel lanes apart from a few specific locations where road diets are being contemplated which would be subject to provincial approval when and if the legislation is passed.
A road diet, also called a lane reduction or road rechannelization, is a technique where the number of travel lanes and, or the width of the road, is reduced.
Brett Gratrix, the city’s senior project manager, says projects are considered on a yearly basis with implementation typically planned for the spring.
“This process includes consultation with area residents and a staff report seeking council approval where material changes are being contemplated, such as the removal of on-street parking,” he said. “With the new provincial requirements, project timing may change.
“The city implemented road diets on Cox Mill Road, Summerset Drive and Livingstone Street West this year,” Gratrix added. “These projects employed lane narrowing to create space for shoulders that can be used for parking or cyclists. These projects did not require the removal of travel lanes."
Projects for 2025 are in process of being assessed, he said.
Proposed provincial legislation would also require municipalities to demonstrate that proposed bike lanes won’t have a negative impact on vehicle traffic.
Barrie has 40 kilometres of bicycle lanes.
Prabmeet Sarkaria, the province’s minister of transportation, said this week there’s too much gridlock in Ontario cities.
Restricting bike lanes, increasing highway speed limits and more attention to potholes are expected to be included in laws proposed in the fall sitting of the Ontario legislature, scheduled to begin Oct. 21.
